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MechWarrior Online Beta – Review…

MechWarrior Online is classic, traditional and old school. The MWO is not like a shooter with Mechs, it’s like a tank simulator with Mechs (Tanks with Legs). If you ever played one of the old MechWarrior games, Counter Strike or World of Tanks, this game is going to feel a bit familiar to you, or at least it did to me.They share some mechanics and some of the complexity behind the gameplay.

MWO follows the classic slow pace gameplay found in the old MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, you do tons of shooting and moving but in the end, the game is not about killing 10 players in 10 seconds. So… If you can’t take all the shooting and fireworks with limited results… MWO is not your cup of tea.

The gameplay in MechWarrior is the main feature of the game, because is not like a standard shooter in its own right, it’s something else, the mechanics on this game is what makes the whole thing special, moving around in one direction and twisting your torso is one thing, doing it right it’s another thing, do it the wrong way and you will end up stuck against a wall or something, taking a nasty beating from the enemy.

The same goes with the Heat management, if you overheat your mech, chances are that you are going to die! Not because overheating will explode you, but because it will shut down your systems, turning you into an easy prey for a few moments.

Knowing when to shoot and heat up your mech is very important, spamming all your weapons all the time is not a good idea, a good player knows when to tune down the DPS and when to heat up the frying pan.

The game can be fun from time to time, I won’t deny that, but it’s a bit inconsistent, for some reason the developers thought that the Counter Strike style of matches is good, so if you get killed!!! You have to wait there and sit down in the spectator chair, something that is a bit boring sometimes.

Another thing that I am complaining about each time I play the game, is the absence of some important Mechs like the Mad Cat, the Sunderer and my favorite one, the Longbow. Those mechs are missing.

I heard something about some corporate drama and some lawsuits around the copyright of those mechs, but if you are not going to have the very important mechs, then what is the point of calling the game MechWarrior…?

Not a Mad Cat, nor a Longbow...

Ok, enough complaining about the mechs… What about the graphics and the sound… Well, the graphics are great, at least the new mechs are cool and stylish, the environments are beautiful and the lasers sound effects are amazingly good, it’s too darn bad that the music is missing.

Here is a list of pros and cons.

Graphics.

+ Awesome looking Mechs, The Atlas rocks the house.

+ Eye candy environments.

+ Tons of fireworks! Lasers, Missiles, etc…

+ Sweet night vision effects. Thermal is also cool.

+ In general, the graphics are good and immersive.

- There is no SLI support…! Waste Potential there…!

- Graphical Glitches if you try to force AA.

- CryEngine 3… really…?

Sound

+ Weapon sounds, they will rock your ears.

+ Mech engine and footsteps add tons of immersion.

- Some explosions are lackluster, going down doesn’t feel that great at all.

- The music, shines for its absence…

Gameplay

+ The same old MechWarrior Formula, slow pace with tons of classic features

+ The Damage Model based on mech areas and body parts, not just hit-boxes.

- Counter Strike Killing rules… You better like the spectator seat.

- No coolant flush!!!! Its coolant the new gold?

- Passive Sensors… Where are they…?

- No story of any kind.

- Mech customization could use some improvement.

Community

+ Healthy Population, I can find a match quick…

+ A bit helpful… They told me how to use the nightvision in mid game.

- Atlas-fest, some matches are overcrowded with that kind of mech.

- Some design problems, you finish up a match and you have to return to the lobby. You cant keep playing with the same players.

In conclusion, MechWarrior Onlineis a game that follows the classic MechWarrior formula, it can be fun but certain inconsistencies are ruining my game experience from time to time. I really hate when my team sucks or the other team is way too good.

I will give this title the benefit of the doubt because the game is in Beta and we are talking about MechWarrior, let’s see if the developers fix the SLI issue and add some iconic Mechs in the game.

Note: The cashshop, is a bit pricy if you ask me, good to know that I can get all the stuff I need with the in-game currency. Keep in mind that you have to put some money into the game if you want the cool looking mechs...